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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896282">Vicious Vines And Trying Times</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/inamamagic/pseuds/inamamagic'>inamamagic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Jane the Virgin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/F, Jane is a princess, Petra is a princess, and they're wives as it should be</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:47:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,737</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/inamamagic/pseuds/inamamagic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane's been kidnapped. Petra has to fight her way up a tower to save her. </p><p>A fairy tale inspired AU in which they are both princesses and also wives.</p><p>(did i totally poach that title from a deeply buried memory of a jonas brothers album? yes)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Petra Solano/Jane Villanueva</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Vicious Vines And Trying Times</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra stares at the horrific tangle of vines criss-crossing the tower and gulps.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The tower itself goes higher than the eye can see, but the base is littered with sharp rocks, a nasty death trap. The vines are viscous looking, thick and tangled with gleaming thorns, but Petra knows they’re a thousand times worse than they look. If she doesn’t cut them all away before she reaches the top, they’ll come for her in a frenzy and smother her in their grip. She’ll be a puddle of blood and ruined flesh before she can even hope to call for help.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright Grilled Cheese,” she says, patting her winged horse. “Think we can make it?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Grilled Cheese whinnies, and Petra clutches the reins. He belongs to Jane; Petra had snuck him out of the stables the moment she’d learned that Jane had been kidnapped and imprisoned. The vines are the least of her troubles though. Whoever took Jane had had cursed her too. Petra might be Jane’s princess but she doesn’t think this is a good time to test whether she’s her true love on top of everything else. To fight her way up the tower and to see two of her worst fears unfold simultaneously - losing Jane, and Jane not loving her the way Petra loves her… </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. She cannot allow herself to think that. Jane <em>loves</em> her, she wouldn’t have married her otherwise. Wouldn’t have defied her whole kingdom, turning down a long engagement with Prince Michael, nearly risking <em>war </em>between their kingdoms… </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No. Jane loves her. In any case, Petra doesn’t have the time or luxury to spiral. Negative thoughts weigh her down - literally. It’s happened before. The first time Petra had ridden Grilled Cheese, she’d been so afraid that the horse hadn’t been able to take off at all. After a lot of neighing and huffing, and running around in circles, it had stopped in the middle of the field and refused to move at all. An exasperated Petra had gotten off, only to find Jane on the ground, crying with laughter. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s not that funny,” she’d grumbled.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You - you have - you have to think positive,” Jane had gasped, clutching her sides. “Grilled Cheese can’t fly if you don’t.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra takes a deep breath, trying not to look at the vines too much. She imagines Jane being awakened. Imagines their Happily Ever After, just perfect as it’s been all these months. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Let’s go save our Princess,” Petra whispers. Grilled Cheese snorts and Petra tugs on the reins ever so gently, sword in hand. The horse begins to flap its golden wings, stirring up a breeze that makes Petra’s ponytail flutter into her face. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They’re barely five feet up before the first vine attacks. Petra counts her lucky stars that it hit her instead of the horse because the last thing she needs is for Grilled Cheese to be knocked out of the air. Her cheek stings. She raises her sword and guides Grilled Cheese around the tower. The vine comes back, but this time she’s ready for it. A single swipe takes care of it, and Petra watches it hiss and wither as it falls.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She urges Grilled Cheese up further, but with an ominous rattling and spitting, the rest of the vines begin to rise. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hold on boy,” says Petra, patting Grilled Cheese again. “Steady.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She flies farther out away from their reach, trying desperately to open the vial that’s strapped to her waist, but with one hand on the reins and another holding her sword, she can barely get to it. She slices through a pair that attempts to lunge at Grilled Cheese’s ear, and cuts through a few more, but since she’s barely lopped off their tips, it’s not enough to stop them from coming back. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra flies further away, just managing to get enough time to pop the cap off the vial. Taking her hand off the reins, she urges Grilled Cheese forward again, her heart in her throat as she tightens her hold with her legs. As the horse flies back towards the tower, she sways slightly and leans forward for support. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The vines shoot out, hissing and growling. Petra flicks her wrist, tossing the contents of the vial at the tower. With an abysmally high shriek, the vines writhe as the potion hits them. They wither and crumble in a tangled mass, and Petra grabs the reins again, urging Grilled Cheese higher.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“That’s Marbella Weed Killer for you,” she yells, looking at the hole she has left in the matted green outside the stone walls. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But the vines keep coming for her. The higher she goes, the thinner they get, and they’re easier to slice if she’s quick about it, but they’re so much sharper too. Petra finds clumps of her hair falling around her face as they ascend. She can barely see, she’s stabbing and swiping almost blindly now, and Grilled Cheese’s whinnies ring in her ears. The guilt of what she’s putting the horse through grows and grows, and she keeps swiping, when all of a sudden, Grilled Cheese neighs frantically, and Petra realises that they’re losing height. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh no,” she gasps. “Grilled Cheese!” The horse whinnies again, and Petra looks around, wondering if a vine has stabbed him or cut through his wing, but aside from a few nicks, the horse looks about fine. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She feels a pang of regret again. Grilled Cheese falls a few more feet. Realisation dawns on her just as a vine whacks her straight across the forehead. Petra sees stars. Guiding the horse away from the tower, she blinks. There is an odd ticklish feeling on the bridge of her nose and she tries to rub it away. Her hand comes away wet with blood.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh for crying out loud.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Glaring at the vines, she leans forward, wiping away the trickle of blood from her face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Give it all you’ve got boy.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Grilled Cheese zooms back towards the tower again, and Petra extends her sword, looking up once more. They’re halfway there, and that gives her hope. The horse ascends, and when the vines come back, Petra is ready. Her sword takes no prisoners, slashing through each assailant without a moment’s pause. The blade is whisper-sharp, the type to cut you even when the swipe comes from inches away. It had been an enchanted betrothal gift from Jane’s family, a gift in exchange for her protection. Jane’s mother and grandmother had entrusted it to Petra, but she’d never had to use it till now.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Come on,” she encourages Grilled Cheese, who whinnies and flies higher. The vines shriek in fury and lash out, but they’ve reached their limit; the last few feet below the single window in the tower is safe to approach. Whoever constructed it must’ve had a lot of faith in their safeguards, but they didn’t anticipate the might of a furious wife coming to save her princess.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She stumbles in through the window, landing with a hard bump on the ground.Her sword is knocked out of her hand. Grilled Cheese zooms away. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Petra? Oh my god!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra looks up to find Jane, very much awake, and not looking particularly distressed or cursed at all. She blinks, confused. She must have hit her head on the ground, that’s why she’s having visions of Jane all well and good and definitely not in any sort of trouble. The room is filled with books and there’s a whole table filled with food, and there’s a fire burning in the grate.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jane?” she rasps. “Is - are you real?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jane looks positively alarmed. She looks as real as anything and feels that way too, with her warm, steady hands helping Petra to her feet.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What happened!” she exclaims, looking Petra over. “Oh my god, what happened to you? Did someone attack you?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra frowns. “Didn’t someone attack <em>you</em>?” she asks. “I came to save you because you’ve been kidnapped!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Jane claps a hand over her mouth with a gasp. “Didn’t you get my note?” she yelps.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What note?” Petra shrieks, now feeling a little unhinged, wondering if this is a side effect of the vine attacks or if this is part of the curse. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I left you a note!” Jane exclaims. “I told you, I’d be at the tower, I needed to get away for a while, the whole Sin Rostro situation was driving me insane. I needed people to stop bothering me for a day. I left you a note on the pillow!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Jane,” says Petra, gripping her wife’s hands, and at this point, she has to because she needs to know what's real and she also feels like she might keel over with exhaustion and frustration. “You mean to tell me that you came up here, and all you left was a <em>note</em>?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah…” says Jane, guilt creeping into her voice. “Because I also left you this thing that you can press - it would’ve gotten rid of the vines so you could come in. There’s a door downstairs and a sort of pulley thing… it’s called a lift, it’s really cool and -”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. Jane looks at her with those beautiful brown eyes of hers filled with guilt and worry. “You mean - you came up all the way here, to <em>save</em> me?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes, of course I did!” snaps Petra. “My god, Jane, I was worried sick! How could you not have told me? A <em>note</em>?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m sorry!” wails Jane, and throws her arms around Petra. “I am so sorry, oh my god. You didn’t even wear any armour!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra huffs, but pats Jane on the head. “Well, you’re alive at any rate,” she says. “I suppose that’s better than nothing.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Jane lets go of her, her eyes are shining with tears. “I can’t believe you came all the way here, just to save me alone,” she says, taking a tuft of blonde hair in her hands. “Look at what the vines have done to you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Petra tries to be brave about it. “It’ll grow back.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A tear falls down Jane’s cheek as she smiles.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I love you, Petra,” she says. “I love you, <em>so</em> much.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And despite all the cuts and bruises and her <em>ruined</em> hair (which will need a trim and nearly six months to grow out properly), Petra smiles as she holds her princess in her arms.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I found this in an old drafts folder from back when I was still churning out Jetra by the dozen (ok not that many lol). Decided to clean it up and post it. Thank you for reading ^_^</p><p>Hope you're all keeping as well as you can in these difficult times. Be gentle with yourselves. Wishing you and all your loved ones the best &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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